


In defiance of the universe's idea of love

by Highlights_and_Lowlives



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Azumane Asahi-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mentioned Sugawara Koushi, Mentioned Yachi Hitoka, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character Death(s), Past Relationship(s), Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 13:01:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30039093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highlights_and_Lowlives/pseuds/Highlights_and_Lowlives
Summary: It was supposed to be simple really. Everyone was born with someone perfect for them. Someone so finely in tune with their emotions, someone that is both your life partner and best friend, someone that'd completely you. The universe had cherry-picked this ideal partner before your conception. And as was all too rare, the universe was kind enough to give you a way to find them. A tattoo. An unique mark you only shared with one other person in the entire world, the person destined for you. You just had to go and find them.But things could never be that simple, now could they?---Asahi is supposed to be the happiest man on earth when he finally meets his soulmate, but after years of trying to make a one-sided relationship work he finally has enough and packs his back. The same night he strays off the path the universe set out for him me meets Nishinoya.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu
Kudos: 27





	In defiance of the universe's idea of love

Packing up the apartment was one of the most painful experiences Asahi had gone through to date. 

It was right up there with the death of his childhood dog and the actual break-up that preceded the move. He thought at the time it'd be easier; he'd get his half of the stuff and move out while his ex was at work. Leave the apartment he'd lived in for five years with nothing to trace it back to him, as if he'd never even existed in the small space. 

But when you've loved someone for so long your lives grow intermingled. Their friends become your friends, your stuff becomes their stuff. Suddenly the new chair you bought was shared item, not something you picked up on a whim. Suddenly you had to look at all the picture frames and had to wonder who'd take them now that they'd been stripped of the memories that were first held dear in them. 

Love so interwoven was what songs and poems were written about. It was the love that was typical for soulmate marks. 

It was supposed to be simple really. Everyone was born with someone perfect for them. Someone so finely in tune with their emotions, someone that is both your life partner and best friend, someone that'd completely you. The universe had cherry-picked this ideal partner before your conception. And as was all too rare, the universe was kind enough to give you a way to find them. A tattoo. An unique mark you only shared with one other person in the entire world, the person destined for you. You just had to go and find them. 

Asahi found his soulmate in an art exhibition. 

He was tall and lanky, with thick glasses and dressed up in a surprisingly formal fit for the casual occasion. Though peeking out from under his dress pants were a set of colourful socks. 

The man didn't catch Asahi's attention at first, just another visitor among the sea of faceless customers he saw each day. That was until he saw the mark on the man's palm. 

The tattoo of a strike of lightning, starting at his wrist and spreading out in his palm as if it were the dark night sky. Asahi knew the mark all too well, he had an identical one on his right palm. 

He remembered how the world around him had slowed down for a moment as he saw it. The thick glasses, the long hair tied off into a low ponytail, the colourful socks. In that moment Asahi knew he could and probably would fall in love with the stranger that stood across the gallery. 

His co-worker Sugawara had forced Asahi to introduce himself to the stranger. After a few minutes of awkward small talk and the stranger introducing himself as Haruto finally showed his palm. 

That was it. He'd found his soulmate. Years passed, they got their first apartment, bought new furniture together and took pictures of the places they visited for dates. Suddenly everything they had was owned by the both of them.  
Asahi should've felt completed. He found his other half, the missing piece. But he couldn't help but feel the lonely ache in his chest. Haruto was still a person he could fall in love with. Because the moments spent together were like no other, be it peaceful Sunday mornings or late evenings after work. Sometimes it did feel like the Haruto was the right person. But then again, those moments didn't happen often. 

Many would describe Haruto as dedicated, and Asahi would whole heartedly agree. It was one of the many things he adored about his partner. But dedication was a double-edged sword. Haruto was a man married to his job. Each day, without fail, the bed would be cold when Asahi awoke and lonely when he went to sleep. And even when the two were both awake at the same time they drifted past each other like leaves in the wind. Too tired to talk, so close yet seemingly miles away. As years of their rather sad relationship passed the distance only grew more broad. The dates they went on became less frequent and were instead replaced by lonely dinners on the kitchen floor. 

Haruto was a person Asahi could love, maybe later in life when he had retired or finally burnt himself out. And for years he waited. Waited to feel the spark he saw when he saw how Sugawara's husband looked at him, or the tremble of excitement in his other co-worker Yachi's voice when she spoke of her girlfriend. But in all those years it never came, and he finally had enough. 

Haruto had to be a damn good actor or a very clueless man to be so surprised when Asahi broke the news. Though the latter was more likely when instead of begging for his soulmate to stay, the hardworking man just stared in silent shock before giving a shrug and letting Asahi. He wasted no tears on their relationship, unlike Asahi himself who’d spent that night at Sugawara’s place crying his heart out in the couch pillows. He’d avoided going back to the apartment for a week, till Sugawara literally dragged him out to get his stuff. 

Their apartment had become so intermingled even though they hadn't. It was just pretty window dressing to cover up an empty relationship, an art exhibit just as the one they met at. The uncomfortable furniture that Haruto only kept for practicality, the wallpaper Asahi had picked out on his own because his partner didn't want to come shopping with him, photos of dates that never actually meant anything. 

Nonetheless, the reality of how Asahi had wasted the past few years with someone so unloving slapping him in the face was painful enough that his legs had dragged themselves to the nearest pub that night. 

Asahi wasn't a drinker. He hated the smell of most beers and really only liked the occasional wine (something his family teased him relentlessly about). But in this moment of weakness he'd decided to try and drink his emotions for the first time in his life, accompanied by Sugawara and his husband. The fact that Daichi came with them added a bit of insult to injury, but trusting Sugawara to be the responsible one when they went out for drinks was a danger Asahi would rather not deal with. 

Though as the night went on soon the two lovebirds grew more drunken and affectionate than Asahi and he was left sitting at the bar, trying not to spill tears into his glass. 

That's when he met him. 

He came bursting into the club, momentarily grabbing the attention of everyone. He very much reminded Asahi of the mark on his palm, of lighting. Dressed in leather with bulky boots to make himself seem taller, he surely stood out among the crowd. Especially with that bleached lock of hair framing his face. It wasn’t long before the rest of the bargoers turned back to whatever they’d busied themselves with prior, but Asahi’s gaze was stuck on the eccentric stranger. He walked up to the bar, taking a seat right next to Asahi. He hadn't even spared a second before turning to Asahi and striking up a conversation. 

"What brings you here on this lovely evening?" His tone was ever so slightly playful with a grin on his face to match. 

Upon getting a closer look at his face he saw it. His soulmark was one of beauty. An assortment of flowers sprawled across his left temple, reaching up from his hairline to his cheekbone. From what Asahi could make out there were some orchids and forget-me-nots. It was a masterpiece etched on the stranger's skin, Asahi almost felt jealous for having such a painfully bland mark. But that jealously was subdued when he noticed the greyness of the mark, ever so slightly faded. 

It meant only one thing. 

When a soulmate died the tattoo that represented the love would dull. Rich black ink would be reduced to a faded grey, signifying to the world the tragedy that the person had lived through. 

The stranger must've caught him staring because he let out a long pained sigh. "Don't fucking say it, I know and I've never met them so I don't really care" 

Asahi swore that in that moment time stopped. 

"O-oh I'm sorry-" he tried to stutter out, "- I didn't want to-". The words tangled up in the back of his throat and a warmth rising to his cheeks. 

The stranger chuckled at his distress. "Don't worry, most people say it" he spoke, his voice shifting back into loud and cheerful tone it had before. "Name's Nishinoya Yuu, just call me Noya Though" 

"Nice to meet you Noya, I'm Asahi Azumane" he responded, reaching out to shake the man's hand to which Noya in response acted out a needless difficult handshake with outstretched hand. 

They carried on an easy conversation for the rest of the evening, led by the ever-so-talkative Nishinoya. Asahi learnt more about Noya than he ever did about Haruto. His age, job, the high-school he went to, why he had a burning hatred for neon green, his favourite type of flower. Nishinoya was an enigma, with a million thoughts running through his head at every moment and a desire to share every single one of them. And Asahi wanted to listen to every single one of them. 

Around midnight Noya finally begun tiring himself out. Most had left the bar at this hour, including Sugawara and Daichi. 

After a beat of silence Noya struck up a more serious topic. "Sorry if I was a bit mean in the beginning, it's just really tiring that everyone stares at that stupid tattoo" 

"Oh don't worry, I can't even imagine how that must be" Asahi responded, lips ghosting over his third glass of wine. 

Maybe it was the alcohol that made Noya so loose-lipped, maybe it was just his personality. But nonetheless, he continued talking. "It sucks... it's been like this since I was seven and I never really knew them, but everyone I meet looks at me with so much pity it's unbearable"  
He groaned loudly and took another sip. "And like, I'm supposed to be sad about it but I'm just not! Whoever they were, they were nothing more than someone that I could've spent the rest of my life with! They're not my other half or something... They’re just some rando that the universe decided was ‘perfect’ for me" 

Asahi had never expected to hear those words and yet they were exactly what he needed to hear. When he'd confided in family that he was breaking up with Haruto he'd gotten nothing but concerned stares. It was almost considered blasphemous; Haruto was supposed to be his one and only. As if Asahi was less of a person without his soulmate. An unfinished draft of a book, an abandoned sketch in pencil. And when he saw the loving glances exchanged by the people the universe had marked to be together, he was tempted to believe the same. 

But Nishinoya, in all his strangeness and intrigue, had a different opinion. 

"... I know what you mean" Asahi whispered, awkwardly coughing into his hand. "I uh… found my soulmate a few years ago but ..well they're not the person I hoped they'd be ... I broke it off a few days ago". Saying it out loud felt as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders. "I disli- well.. to be honest, hate the looks my family gave me when I told them.. like I'm less of a person without him.." 

Noya listened intently, occasionally nodding along. "Your family is being dumb, you're an amazing person, your soulmate doesn't make you more of a person" 

The tears that had stung in the corners of Asahi's eyes earlier the evening came back. Though this time it was out of joy, not out of sorrow. 

"Thank you, Noya..." 

From that moment on it went all too easily. Numbers were exchanged and Friday evenings were dedicated to going to whatever bar Noya wanted to check out. When Asahi couldn't keep couch-surfing he moved in with the short man. Suddenly Asahi begun daydreaming about kissing his roommate under starry nights or between the artworks hung in the museum he worked at. Before he knew it Noya confessed over drinks at home and Asahi started the second relationship in his life. 

And it was damn right the best decision he'd ever made. 

The universe had tried to decide who he loved, but in the end he could always ignore the path set out for him. Loving Nishinoya was unconventional, just as the man himself. And Asahi loved every second of it. It wasn’t always easy, the two were so widely different. But those differences were also their strength. They were two extremes on different sides of a spectrum, and with the other their flaws got pulled to a nice middle ground. It was not the ideal, not the usual, but it was what both needed. An abnormal relationship, a big ‘fuck you’ to the universe and everything to do with its set out path for all that inhabit it. 

But the universe was surprisingly cruel, and did everything in its power to force Asahi back onto the track it had set out for him. 

The retribution for his rebellion came in the form of a knock at the door. Nishinoya had just left for his job and Asahi was just cleaning up a bit around the house that'd grown to be his home. When he heard the frantic knocking he didn't think much of it. 

Upon opening the door he was met with a weeping Haruto. His ex was dressed in his usual formalwear, though was noticeably dishevelled. He looked like he’d been wearing it for a few days now. Between ugly sobs and sniffles the tall man begun trying to explain himself, beg for Asahi to come home. 

Asahi was always a compliant person. He always bended himself to accommodate others, change himself to avoid butting heads. Some even called it cowardice. So even though he wanted to slam the door shut upon seeing the face of his ex he just stood there, frozen in place. 

The man took it as a sign to start clinging to the knitted sweater Asahi was wearing, grovelling at his feet. He watched Haruto try and explain himself, knowing full well it was too little too late. He stood there for what must've been an hour, his legs aching in pain when he finally closed the door and hid away in his room. Asahi, in an act he could only describe as gutless, hid under the covers and tried to not listen to the pounding on the door. 

Even though Asahi had been in distress he'd managed to fall asleep while hiding away in bed. He was awoken by Nishinoya screaming 'honey, I'm home' as he came home from work. Slowly Asahi shrugged the blankets off him, rubbing his eyes. 

"Hey Asahi, you won't believe what happened at work tod-.. Asahi?" Upon seeing Asahi's reddened eyes and the dried tears on his cheeks he stopped. "What's wrong, did something happen?" The shorter man raced up to his taller lover, taking his cheeks in his hands and gently caressing them. Noya’s hand were surprisingly soft and Asahi found a bit of comfort in their warmth. 

Asahi sniffled, throat still sore. "He.. he came by when you were at work.." 

"He?" 

"Haruto" 

Nishinoya's look of concern turned into a scowl. "What did he do? Do I need to murder him?-" 

"N-no...he ...he asked me to come back" the tears came rushing back and Asahi cursed himself for being so emotional. But the pressure had been building up for all the months prior. Pressing comments from family, laughter when he expressed his desire to spend the rest of his life with Noya. Sometimes it felt easier, to just go back to the suffocatingly lonely routine he’d been stuck in. But then Nishinoya cupped his face in his hands, kissing away the tears and whispering sweet nothings. And suddenly everything was okay.  
"I-I know he's meant to be my soulmate, but-but I don't want to go back!" the words took a considerable amount of strength to push out of his mouth, but when they were spoken he knew they were the truth. 

Nishinoya kissed the taller man's forehead, tangling his fingers into his long hair. "You're not going back there, you deserve better than him" he spoke, the strength in his voice acting as the pillar Asahi could lean on.  
"Soulmarks don't mean shit! And I can prove it!" Noya went on, quickly pulling away and grabbing a marker out of the kitchen. When he returned he gently took Asahi's left hand and drew a small heart on the inside of his wrist. Then, with a bit of trouble, drew another heart in the identical spot on his body. "There! I can do it too!" 

The gesture brought a smile to Asahi's face, lighting the mood to the point where he could even choke out a watery chuckle. Though Nishinoya wasn't done yet and instead continued doodling. Further up their arms he made scribbles on their body. A star, a bottle of booze, an oddly shaped lamp Asahi recognised as the one they had hanging above them. Nishinoya made as many soulmarks he could think of, before Asahi himself took the marker and drew his own on Noya's cheek. 

After that they took turns drawing the marks. Eventually they discarded their shirts when they ran out of canvas for their little masterpieces. They ended up cuddled together by the end of it, covered in the marks to cement their love. 

It took at least a week or two for the marker to fully wash away, though neither were in a hurry to get it off. 

The universe had forced them to march to its tune, but instead they'd turned around and carved their own path. Made their own home. Because after all, what was humanity without its ability to defy the odds?

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this at 3 am so-
> 
> okay so this is a little short and shitty, especially the rushed ending, but i just wanted to post this while I'm working on a bigger project and also because i liked the concept??? Maybe ill expand on this idea in a later story but rn I have like a million ideas for projects so
> 
> im v bad at writing asanoya, i don't read a lot of their fics n while i do adore them i dont pay much attention to them. but my oh so lovely best friend suggested it and so i wrote it about them. maybe in another story i can really dig into their characters since i do really love them, tho i could say that about almost every haikyuu characters (the only characters i can say i hate are the shiritorizawa's coach and Kageyama's middle school's coach, those two are my top pick for fictional characters i'd fight behind a 7/11) 
> 
> anyways more works are coming right up and until then, I hope you have a good one 
> 
> -Mello
> 
> Also I'm very desperate for friends that like haikyuu since my best friend (WHO FORCED ME TO WATCH IT) won't finish the fucking show, FUCK U KYRA-  
> so u can shoot me a message over insta (@/mello_marshmallow_) or twt (@/MeiKersjes)


End file.
